-
英语篇章结构
句子是最高一层的语法单位,又是语言表达的基本单位。句法是个语法范畴,它属于语<
/p>
言的组织规律,而章法则属于语言使用的范畴,或者说是言语的规律。从词素、词、词组、
分句、句子讲到篇章就把语言的结构和语言的使用都概括进去了。现在我们来看一看英语
的
篇章是怎样构成的。
句子、语段、语篇
英语的篇章(
Discourse
),包括口头形式
和书面形式,通常是由句子和语段(
Sentence
Gro
up
)构成的,即所谓“积句而成章,积章而成篇”。从英语的实际使用情况来看,人们
总
是以句子为话语的基本单位,围绕一定的话题,组成大大小小的言语片断来完成思想表
达任
务。在这里,确实存在着由句到篇的一种过渡形式——语段。
语段,又叫句群,是由句子组成的语言表达单位,它是句子和语篇之间的中间层次。
我
们知道,句子在一定的语言环境中能够单独地使用,能够单独地表达相对完整的思想。
但是,
要表达多方面的、比较复杂的思想,往往需要把几个句子组织起来,结成更大的言
语片段,
以表达“一层”的意思。因此,语段是一个相对独立的较大语义单位,它既与上
下语段相关
联,又与上下语段相区别。正是许多这样的语段相结合,才构成了语篇。所以
,语段是建筑
在逻辑思维基础上的表意“层次”。
构成语段的各个句子都必须围绕一个中心话题,从而具有向心的作用。这样的一群句子,< p>
通过一定的逻辑顺序组织起来,便成为一个较大的语义整体。因此,作为一个思想表达单位,
语段所表达的思想并不是各句意义的简单总和,而是比各句意义更高一层的有机组合。例如:<
/p>
True
,
in the woods Wolf was as brave as an
honorable dog should be
;
but
what dog is
ever brave enough to stand
firm against the terrors of a woman's
tongue
?
As soon as Wolf
entered the
house
,
his head bent
low
,
his tail lay on the
ground or curled between his
legs
.
He went
around the house with a guilty
look
,
watching
Dame Van Winkle out of the
corner of
his eye
,
ready to run from
the room at the slightest sign of her
displeasure
.
其实,那
条名叫“狼”的狗在林中也具有一条体面的狗所应有的勇气,可是哪条狗的勇
气又能挡得
住可怕的女人的舌头呢?“狼”只要一走进家里立刻就垂头丧气,它的尾巴不是
拖在地上
,就是夹在腿间。它像做贼心虚似地在屋里转来转去,从眼角里偷偷地瞟着凡·温
克尔太
太,只要见她稍一恼怒便随时准备向门外奔去。
这一语段的中
心意思是描写“狼”如何害怕女主人。这个语段由三个完全句组成。第一
句是通过一个表
示转折的并列结构,说明“狼”在树林里和在家里的表现完全不同,意思没
有出来。二、
三两句补充了第一句的意思,从夹着尾巴,低着头回家,到偷偷摸摸在屋里转
来转去,不
时偷看女主人,随时准备逃出去的情态,使第一句的意思具体化了。这样,三句
结合一起
就充分勾画出“狼”害怕女主人的神情,这些意义只有通过这三个句子的有机组合
英语篇
章结构
第
- 1 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 1 -
才能表达出来。有时,同样的句子,只是因为句与句之间的结
合方式不同,以致语段所表达
的意思也不同。试比较下面两组句子的意义:
(
1
)
< br>Some of the teachers are recruited from foreign countries
.
They know their
respective fields
well
.
Their
courses are well planned and efficiently
taught
.
Yet their way
of living is different from
ours
.
有些教师是从外国聘来的
。他们熟习自己的专业。所开课程富有计划性,教学效果良好。
然而他们的生活方式跟我
们不一样。
(
2
)
Some of the teachers are recruited from
foreign countries
.
Their way
of living is
different from
ours
.
Yet they know their
respective fields well
,
and
their courses are well
planned and
efficiently taught
.
< br>有些教师是从外国聘来的。他们的生活方式跟我们不一样。然而他们熟悉自己的专业,
所开课程富有计划性,教学效果良好。
在上面两个语段中
,句子是基本相同的,但句子的结合方式不同,从而意义重心也不同。语
段(
1
)的意义重心在于指出外籍教师的生活方式与我们不同;语段(
2
)的意义重心则在于
指出外籍教师的专业水平
较高和教学质量较好。语段(
1
)通常用于为外籍教师的某些不
满情
绪寻找原因的上下文中,而语段(
2
)则通常用于为聘请外籍教师提出理由的上下文中。
要注意
语段和段落(
Paragraph
)之间的区别。语段是篇章结
构的中间层次;段落是在
某些语体(如记叙文和论说文)中比语段更大的意义单位。较小
的段落可以只包括一个语段,
但是一个段落通常是由几个语段构成的。那末,能不能说,
篇章是由句子、语段、段落构成
的呢?这就不可一概而论,因为有的语篇能分段落,有的
不能分段落。比如对话通常不分段
落,但是一个较长的对话可分为若干语段。戏剧分场景
,在一个场景里不分段落,但可根据
情节发展划分语段。有些小说体,分章不分段,但可
划分语段。拿我们的汉语来说,古汉语
有的就在形式上不分段落,但是古汉语照样可以分
语段,并在语段的基础上结合成为更大的
篇章层次。可见,段落并不是从旬到篇必不可少
的中间层次,而语段却是这样的中间层次。
因此,当我们讲“语段”的时候,不要把它和
“段落”混为一谈;当我们讲“语篇”的时候,
也不要把“语篇”和“段落”对立起来,
因为一个充分发展的段落本身也就是语篇。例如:
(
1
)
Learning a foreign
language has changed
.
(
2
)
Not so long ago
students would sit
with pens in
hand
,
writing the basic forms
of a language
,
learning
structures they would
never be able to
speak
.
(
3
)
In that same classroom
today
,
pens and notebooks
have been
put away
.(
< br>4
)
The spoken sounds of a
foreign tongue fill the room
.(
5
)
Today the
last
skill
learned
-
writing a foreign
language
-
comes as a natural
and possible part of the total
language
-
learning
process
.
(
6
)
Yet
,
just a few years
ago
,
the last skill learned
was the
first skill mastered
today
-
speaking a foreign
tongue
.
学习外语的方法改变
了。不久以前,学生们还是坐在教室里拿着钢笔书写外语的基本形
式,学习那些从来也上
不了口的语言结构。而今天,在相同的教室里,钢笔和笔记本已经束
之高阁了。满屋回荡
着讲外语的声音。现在,写的技能是作为整个外语学习过程的最后一个
英语篇章结构
p>
第
- 2 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 2 -
环节自然而然地习得的。可是,若干年以前,那最后习得的却
是今天最先习得的技能——讲
外语。
这个段落包括三个语段:第一个语段只有一句话(句
1
),它是
本段的主题,
“学习外语
的方法改变了”。第二、三两语段围绕
主题分别表达两层意思。第二语段(句
2
至句
< br>4
)对比
过去和现在外语课教学方法的不同;
第三语段
(句
5
至句
p>
6
)
对比过去和现在外语教学效果的
不同。三个语段紧紧围绕“外语教学”这个主题,先总提,后分述,句句相接,层层相连,
p>
从而构成语篇的统一性(
Unity
)、连
贯性(
Coherence
)和粘着性(
Cohesion
)。
语段中的句际关系
从逻辑意义来看,语段的句际关系可分为平列、顺序、层递、转折、总分、解释、因果
等关系。构成语段的各个句子之间有时可以包含一种以上的句际关系,分述如下:
1
)平列关系
< br>平列关系指句与句之间处于平等并立的地位,互不相属,只是组合起来,共同说明一个
话题。按平列关系组织起来的句群,在次序上并不固定,如果局部改变句子的相互位置并不
< br>改变整个语段的意义。例如:
All the
people on our block give us
trouble
.
Mrs Brown calls the
police whenever we go
to play ball on
the street
.
Mrs Johnson
complains that skateboarding makes too much
noise
.
If we
happen to stray into Mr Hardy's
yard
,
he yells at
us
.
街区里所有的人都跟我们过不
去:每逢我们在街上踢球,布朗太太就打电话叫警察;我
们一玩溜冰车,约翰逊太太就抱
怨太吵闹;如果我们偶尔误入哈代先生家的院子,他就对我
们大声呵斥。
在这个语段中,除了第一句为主题句外,其余三句是一种平列关系,它们处在
同一层次
上,共同说明第一句所表达的意思。这三个平列的句子与第一句处于一种解释和
被解释的关
系,从而与后者不在同一层次上。
2
)顺序关系
顺序关系指构成语段的各个句子只能按事物的发展过程由先而后地顺序排列,不可以随
便改动次序。按这种关系组织起来的句群通常表达一个过程的时间顺序或者描述固定的操作
程序等。例如下面一个选段说明如何设法把掉进坑里的彼得拉上来的过程:
(
1
)
We had a hard time getting Peter out of
the hole he had fallen into
.(
2
)
First
,
we made a rope by linking our belts tog
ether
.(
3
)
< br>Then we lowered it to Peter
,
telling him
to grasp the end
.
(
4
)
After he had hold of the
rope
,
we began to pull him
slowly out of the
hole
.
(
5
)
As he came up
,
no
one dared to speak a word
.
(<
/p>
6
)
Finally
,
we could
grasp
his arms
,
an
d
,
with a sigh of
relief
,
we pulled him out
onto the grassy bank
.
英语篇章结构
第
- 3 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 3 -
我们费了九牛二虎之力
总算把彼得从他坠入其中的洞里搭救上来。首先,我们用各人的
裤带结成一根绳子,把绳
子放到洞里,叫彼得抓住绳头。当他抓住绳子以后,我们便缓慢地
把他往上拉。这时,我
们都提心吊胆,谁也不敢吭一声。最后,我们能够抓住他的手臂了,
这才松了一口气,终
于把彼得拉到洞口的草地上。
本段第一句是点题;第二至第六
句是一种顺序关系。这五个句子结合起来共同说明第一
句的内容,从而与第一句不在一个
层次上。
3
)层递关系
层递关系也是一种固定的顺序关系。所不同的是按这种关系组织起来的句群是按语义的
轻重、认识的深浅作由轻到重、由浅入深的排列。例如:
I
seem to be suffering all the illnesses
imaginable
:
insom
nia
,
headache
,
backache
,
indigestion<
/p>
,
constipation and pains in
the stomach
.
To make things
still worse
,
I've caught
a cold
,
I've got a sore
throat
,
and I'm constantly
sneezing and coughing
.
To crown it all
,
I
had an accident the other
day
,
hurt my right
shoulder
,
leg and
knee
,
and nearly
broke my
neck
.
If
I take a long walk
,
I get
short of breath
.
In
fact
,
I feel more dead than
alive
.
我患了一切可以想象到
的疾病:失眠、头痛、背痛、腹胀、便秘、胃痛。更有甚者,我
受了凉,喉咙痛,不断地
打喷嚏,咳嗽。最糟糕的是,前些日子,我出了事故,伤了右肩,
右腿和右膝,差点折断
了脖子。现在我一动步就气喘。真是,与其说我还活着,不如说是死
了。
4
)转折关系
转折关系指句与句之间存在着意义的转折。
按这种关系组织起来的句群通常
表达
“对比”
、
“对照”的意思。例如
:
Aeroplanes have the
reputation of being dangerous and even hardened
travellers are
intimidated by
them
.
They also have the
grave disadvantage of being the most expensive
form of
transport
.
But nothing can
match them for speed and
comfort
.
乘飞机向来以危险
著称,甚至老资格的旅行家也常为之担惊受怕。飞机还有一个严重的
不利条件,它是最昂
贵的运输工具。然而飞机既便捷又舒适,这却是其他交通工具所望尘莫
及的。
5
)总分关系
总分关系指前边的句子陈述两个或两个以上的情况,后边的句子紧接着分别对它们加以
说明。用这种方式组织起来的句群能够前后呼应,条分缕析。例如:
A business letter may be private or
official
.
In a private
business letter
,
the writer
is
speaking for himself or on his own
behalf
.
In official business
letters the writer acts in his
英语篇章结构
第
- 4 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 4 -
capacity
as an officer in a business or some other kind of
organization
;
usually
< br>,
he does not
speak on his
own behalf but on behalf of the organization he
represents
?
商业函件可
以由私人出面,也可由公家出面。在以私人出面的商业函件中,写信人是代
表他个人说话
。在以公家出面的商业函件中,写信人是以商号或其他机构的一个成员身份行
事,通常不
是代表个人而代表一个机构说话。
6
)解释关系
解释关系指后面的句子是对前面的句子作解释、引申、例证,使意义更加明了、具体。例
如:
Punctuality
is a necessary habit in all public affairs of a
civilized society
.
Without
it
,
nothing could ever be
brought to a conclusion
;
Everything would be in a state of chaos
.在文明社会的一切公务中,遵守时间是必不可
少的习惯。如果
没有这种习惯,那就任何事情也办不成,一切都会陷于混乱。
这是两个句子之间的解释关系,第一句讲遵守时间的重要性,第二句解释为什么遵守时
间
如此重要。还有一种情况是,一个句子受到后面一系列句子的解释。前面讲到平列关系和
顺序关系时已涉及这方面的问题,下面再举一例:
Americans make no distinction in
greeting friends
,
acquaintanc
es
,
or
superiors
.
When
Americans see close
friends
,
casual
acquaintances
,
or even
someone they know only by
sight
,
they are
likely to say
“
Hi
”
in all cases
.
This
does not mean that they have no more
regard for friends than for casual
acquaintances
.
It
only means that
“
Hi
”
serves as a
greeting for
both
.
美国人见到朋友、熟人或
尊长时,打招呼的方式没有区别。他们见到亲密朋友或者泛泛
之交甚至一面之交,可能都
是喊一声“嗨”。这并不意味着美国人对于亲密朋友和泛泛之交
不辨亲疏。这仅说明,“
嗨”,作为一种招呼语,既可用于亲密朋友,也可用于泛泛之交。
本段共四句,第一句为
主题句,随后三句是对主题句加以解释和说明。
7
)因果关系
因果关系也是一种解释关系,但不能反过来说,解释关系都是因果关系。上面所举的例
子就不是因果关系。所以因果关系可以说是一种特殊的解释关系。按因果关系组成的句群有
两种排列方式:一种是从因到果。例如:
Unfortunately
,
the
Cascade Mountains and the Sierra
Nevada
,
so close to the west
coast
,
catch the largest share of the rain off
the Pacific Ocean before it can go further
inland
.
As a result
,
there
is too little rain for almost the whole western
half of the United
States
,
which lies
in the
“
rain shadow of the
mountains
.
In a great part of
that territory
,
therefore
,
farmers must depend
on irrigation water from the snows of rains that
are trapped
by the
mountains
.
英语篇章结构
第
- 5 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 5 -
不幸的是,喀斯喀特山
脉和内华达山脉太贴近西海岸了,截住了来自太平洋的大部分雨
水,使它无法进入内陆。
结果,美国的整个西半边几乎处在遮掉雨水的大山脉的“雨影”之
下,雨水极少。因此这
个地区大部分地方的农民必须靠高山峻岭积存的雨雪供灌溉之用。另
一种是从果到因。例
如:
The old lady was glad to
be back at the block of flats where she
lived
.
Her
shopping
had tired her and her basket
had grown heavier with every step of the way
home
.
那老太谢天谢地总算回到
住所。上街买东西弄得她筋疲力尽,在回家的路上,越走篮子
越沉重。又例如:
The quiet life of the country
has never appealed to
me
.
City born and city
bred
,
I have
always regarded the country as
something you look at through a train window or
something
you occasionally visit during
the week
-
end
.
安静的乡村生活对于我从来没有吸引力。我生长在城市,总是认为乡村
不过是透过火车
窗子一眼掠过的东西或者是偶尔在周末去参观的地方。
< br>
从语段到语篇
上一节所讲的语段的句际关系通常也适用于语段和语段之间的关系。构成语篇的各个语
段可以是不同类型的句群,但它们都必须围绕语篇的中心话题,而不可游离于中心话题以外。
例如:
(
1
)
The
first invention of mankind was the wheel
.
(
2
)
A
lthough no wheel forms are
found in
nature
,
undoubtedly the
earliest
“
wheels
”
were smooth logs which were
used for
moving weights over the
earth's surface
.(
3
)
No one recorded who he
was or when it
happened
,
but when
the
“
first
inventor
”
placed
a wheel on an axle
,
mankind
began to roll
from one
place
to another
.(
4
)
Records of this type
of wheel
have
been found
among
Egyptian relics dating back to 2000
B
.
C
.
and earlier
Chinese civilizations are credited with
independent invention of the same mecha
nism
.
∥
(
5
)
The wheel so fascinated the mind
of man that he has spent centuries
building machines around
it
;
yet in over 4000 years he
has not changed its basic design
.(
6
)
All about us we see the spinning shafts
,
gears
,
flywheels
,
pulleys
,
and rotors which are the descendents
of the first wheel
.
(
< br>7
)
The roaring
propeller of an aircraft
engine
,
the whirling wheel of
a giant steam turbine
,
and
the hairspring
of
a
tiny
watch
are
examples
of
the
rotary
motion
which
characterizes
our
mechanical
wo
rld
.(
8
)
It is hard to conceive of continuous motion
without the wheel
.
轮子是人类的最早发明。尽管在自然界未曾发现天然的轮状物,可是毫无疑问,最早的
“轮子”就是那些在地面上搬运重物的光滑的圆木。究竟谁是那最早的发明家以及什么时候
开始有这项发明,史书都无所记载,但是可以肯定,当那最早的发明家把轮子驾上车轴的时
< br>候,
人类就开始到处转动了。
轮子的记载已在古埃及遗迹
中有所发现,
可以追溯到公元前
2000
年;在早期的中国文明中也曾独立发明过类似的机械装置。轮子深深扎根于人类的思想,以
致几百年来人类总是围绕着轮子建造机器。然而过去
4000
多年来,
人类并没有改变轮子的基
本式样。在我们周围看到的
纺纱轴、齿轮、飞轮、滑轮和转子,无一不是第一代轮子的后裔。
英语篇章结构
第
- 6 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 6 -
轰鸣的飞机引擎推进器、飞速的蒸汽涡轮机轮盘以至小型手表
里的游丝都代表着一种旋转运
动,这是当今机械领域的特征。如果没有轮子,便很难想象
会有继续不断的旋转运动。
这篇文字分为两个语段:句(
p>
1
)至句(
4
)为
第一语段;句(
5
)至句(
8
)为第二语段。第
一语段的中心意思是“轮子是人类的最早发明”;第二
语段的中心意思是“轮子的发明对后
世的深远影响”。两个语段紧紧围绕“轮子”这一中
心话题做文章,句句提到“轮子”;关
键词
wheel
的重复使用成为句与句之间、语段和语段之间的重要连接纽带,从而突出地表现
< br>了这一语篇的统一性、连贯性和粘着性。
当语段进入语
篇时,各个语段之间存在着不同的逻辑意义关系。比如上面所讲的两个语
段之间就是一种
解释和引申的关系。后一语段引申了前一语段的意思。又例如在下列语篇中
各个语段之间
既有解释关系,又有平列关系:
(
1
)
A number of dictionaries are
inappropriate for foreign students
∥
(
2
)
The
first one
is the small pocket dictionar
y
.(
3
)
Dictionaries of this type are usually
only abridgements
of
earlier
,
more comprehensive d
ictionaries
.
(
4
)
The definitions
found in a pocket dictionary
are
usually rather sketchy
,
and few or no example sentences are
given to help the foreign
student
understand how the word is actually used in a sent
ence
.
∥
(
5
)
Equally
inadequate
is the bilingual dictionary<
/p>
.(
6
)
This type of dictionary is often based
on the idea of making
word
-<
/p>
for
-
word
translations
,
a notion which
shows no under
-
standing of
the idiomatic
nature of all languages
p>
.
(
7
)
Moreover
,
bilingual dictionaries are often hastily and
sloppily
compiled
,
as well
as hopelessly out of date even before they are
published
.
有许多词典对
于外国学生是不适用的。其中之一就是袖珍词典。这种词典通常仅是较大
词典的节本,释
义简略,例句很少或者根本没有例句,从而外国学生无法了解一个词在句中
是怎样使用的
。同样不中用的是双语词典。这种词典通常建立在逐字直译的译文基础上,忽
略了一切语
言都具有习语性质。再者,双语词典常常是匆忙地、草率地编出的,而且不等出
版就已经
过时了。
这篇文字共有三个语段:第一个语段(句
1
)是主题句;第二个语段(句
2
至句
4
)和
第三个语段(句<
/p>
5
至句
7
)是一
种平列关系,它们共同解释和引申第一语段的意义,从而二、
三两语段与第一语段是一种
解释和被解释的关系。又例如下面一段关于美国作家杰克·伦敦
成名之前的经历的文字:
(
1
)
Jack London had a very hard and
difficult life
.
∥
(
2
)
He
was
born in San Francisco on January 12
,
1876
.
(
3
)
He
grew up as a street
urchin
,
and lived
on the fringes of society until he was
seventeen
.∥(
4
)
In 1893 he became a sailor
.
(
5
)
For the next four years he fought
and worked his way around the
world
.(
6
)
He
learned
the law of the survival of the
strong and the death of the weak
.(
7
)
He
bummed his wsy
across the United
States
,
often
begging his food from door to door
.∥
(
8
)
When he was
twenty
-
one he
decided to try and get an
education
,
but after a few
months he left school
and went off to
take part in the Klondyke Gold Rush in 1897
.
(
9
)
He hiked over the famous
Chilkoot Pass In north western
Canada
,
got the scurvy and
came back empty
-
handed
.∥
(
10
)
Two years later he sold his first
story to the Overland Monthly in 1899
.(
11
)
From
that time on he made his living by
writing
,
though at first his
manuscripts were often returned
by
publishers
,
and he was
sometimes without money
.
英语篇章结构
第
- 7 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 7 -
杰克,伦敦生活极其艰
苦。他在
1876
年
1
月
12
日生于旧金山,长大成了街头顽童,生
活在社会最下层直到
17
岁。
< br>1893
年杰克·伦敦当了水手,在随后
4
年中他努力拼搏,漂流
世界各地,深深体会弱肉强食的法则。在美国,他到处
流浪,常常挨户乞讨。
21
岁时,他决
心要受点教育但不到数月他又于
1897
年辍学,
参加克朗代克淘金者的行列。
他徒步翻越加拿
大西北
部的著名奇尔科特山口,得了坏血症,旋又两手空空地回到美国。两年以后,即
1899
年,他把第一篇故事卖给了“大陆月刊”,从那以后便以写作为生,尽管一开始常遭退稿
,
身边一文不名。
这一篇文字共有五
个语段:第一语段为主题句,第二、三、四、五语段都是按时间顺序
排列,从而语段之间
是一种顺序关系。又例如:(
1
)
So
me of the older people in the United
States face a number of serious problem
s
.
∥
(
2<
/p>
)
For one
thing
,
more than ten percent
of
all
“
senior
citizens
”
in the United
States are extremely poor
.
(<
/p>
3
)
As a
matter of fact
,
recent
statistics suggest that approximately
one
-
seventh of all people
over the age of sixty
-
five
live below the poverty level
.∥(
4
)
Aged people also have more health
problems than
younger people
.∥(
5
)
A third area for concern stems from the
fact that public
transportation has not
been designed with old people in
mind
;
their activities are
often
limited to whatever is within
walking distance
.∥
(
6
)
And finally
,
there
is the separation
from
family
,
which causes loneline
ss
.
(
7
)
Many older people live by
themselves
(
this is
particularly true of widows and
divorced women
)
.
∥
(
8
)
And
then there are the
“
forgotten
five percent
,”
the
older people who have been
institutionalized
—
that
is
,
sent
to
“
old age
homes<
/p>
”
(
sometimes
called
“
nursing
homes
”
)
by families who either cannot or will
not take
care of
them
.
在美国,有些老年人面临
许多严重的问题。第一,有百分之十以上的美国“高龄公民”
极其贫困。最新的统计数字
表明,在
65
岁以上的人群中,实际上有七分之一的人生活在贫
困
线以下。第二,老年人比年轻人有更多的健康问题。第三桩值得关心的事是公共交通的
设计
没有考虑到老年人的需要,以致老年人的活动范围往往只限于步行所能达到的距离。
最后就
是老年人与家庭分离的问题,引起老年人的孤独感。许多老年人都是单独生活(寡
妇和离了
婚的妇女尤其如此)。此外还有那“被遗忘的百分之五”的老年人,他们由于家
庭不能或不
愿照顾而被送进了“养老院”,就是“老人院”(有时亦称“私人疗养院”)
。
这个段落由六个语段组成,
其中多
数为单句语段。
第一语段
(句
1
)
为主题句;
第二、
三、
四、五、六语段是按照由轻而重的意义关系排列。第二语段(句
2
至句
3
)谈美国老年人贫穷
p>
问题;第三语段(句
4
)讲老年人的健康问
题;第四语段(句
5
)讲老年人的行路问题;第五
语段(句
6
至句
7
)讲老年人的生活孤独问题;最后,第六语段(句
8
)讲无家可归的老年人
问题。各段意义由轻及重,形成语段之间的层递关系。又例如
:
(
1
)<
/p>
Most people who have typewriters and can
type well
,
prefer
to type their letters
nowadays
.
(
2
)
There was a feeling a generation ago
that typewriting was not quite proper
in social correspondence
,
but
,
in the United
States at least
,
the
prejudice against typewriting
much
social correspondence has disappeared
.<
/p>
(
3
)
Many
people
,
as a matter of
fact
,
prefer
that
letters written to them be prepared on the
typewriter
,
since it makes
them easier to
read
.
< br>||
(
4
)
On the other hand
,
the
objections to the typewriter are that it is less
person-al
and that it suggests that the
writer was in too much of a hurry to sit down and
write in
英语篇章结构
第
- 8 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 8 -
longhand
p>
.
(
5
)
One's handwriting is in some ways as much
an expression of his personality
as his
voice
,
and in correspondence
between friends a great deal of the writer is
missing if
he uses a typewriter
< br>.
(
6
)
Therefore
,
the typewriter is
often avoided in letters which express
friendly and personal
sentiments
.
现在凡是有
打字机并会打字的人大多宁愿用打字机写信。二三十年以前曾有一种感觉,
总认为写社交
信用打字机不太合适。可是现在,至少在美国,那种反对用打字机写社交信的
偏见已经不
复存在。实际情况是,许多人宁愿写给他们的信是用打字机打就的,因为这容易
阅读。与
此相反,那反对用打字机的理由是,用打字机打的信缺少个性,它使人感觉写信人
太匆忙
以致无法坐下来亲笔写信。一个人的笔迹,就像他的口音一样,通常是他的个性的表
现,
在给朋友写信时,如果用了打字机,这种个性便大部分消失了。因此,在写信表示友好
和
个人感情时常常避免使用打字机。
这一段文字共有六句,分为
两个语段:句(
1
)至句(
3
)为第一语段,句(
4
)至句(
6
)
为第二语段。两个语段分别表达了正反两层意思。
句(
1
)至句(
3
)表达正面意思,说明为
什么现在大多数人信件往来愿意打字而不愿手写。
第二个语段
(句
4
至句
6
)
表达相反的意思。
上下两个语段通过
on the other hand
连接起来,从而形成语段和语段之间的转折关系。又例
如:
(
1
)
Des
pite apparent
differences
,
the operation of
the computer and the telephone have
much in common
.(
2
)
The operation of both can
be thought of as being divided into three
< br>phases
:
input
,<
/p>
processing
,
and out
put
.
||
(
3
)
In the case of the
computer
,
the
information
:
which is fed
into the machine
—
the
data
—
is the
input
;
the internal
operations of the machine
constitute
the processing
;
and the
result
—
usually a
printout
—
is called the outpu
t
.
||
(
4
)
The telephone
,
p>
too
,
acts on
information presented to it and produces a result<
/p>
.
(
5
)
The input
is the actual dialing
of the number
.
(
6<
/p>
)
The switching system which
locates the number can
be considered
the processing phase
.(
7
)
Finally
,
th
e telephone rings on the other end of
the
line
,
indicating that the
call has been completed
;
this
constitutes the output
.
计算机和电话虽迥然不同,但它们的运作方式却有许多共同之处。两者的运作都可分为
三个阶段:输入、处理和输出。就计算机来说,录入计算机的信息,即数据,叫做“输入”;
计算机内部的运算叫做“处理”;运算的结果,通常打印出来,叫做“输出”。电话也是对
p>
接到的信息进行处理并产生结果。拨号就是电话的“输入”;交换系统查明号码的位置可以<
/p>
看作“处理”。最后,线路另一端的电话铃响了,表示一次传呼的完成,这就是“输出”。
这段文字分为三个语段:第一语段(句
1
至句
2
)为总提(说明计算机和电
话在运作上有
共同之处);第二语段(句
3
)和第三语段(句
4
至句
7
)为分述。语段之间是一种总分关系。
又例如:
(
1
)
The
greatest product of Western America is grass
.(
2
)
Al-
though its growth is
stunted
,
it is
exceedingly nutritious
,
and
the dry air and absence of dews and
rains
,
which
cause
it to cure naturally on its
stem
,
make it possible for ca
ttle
,
sheep
,
and horses to live
on it in winter
as well as in summer
.
||
(
3
)
When
this discovery was made
,
the
Great
American Desert ceased to exist
,and what is known as the range industry was born<
/p>
.(
4
)
英语篇
章结构
第
- 9 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 9 -
From the Gulf to
Canada
,
and from western
Kansas and Nebraska to the
Sierras
,
the cattle
round-up and the mess wagon followed
close on the disappearing Indian and
buffalo
.
草是美国西部最主
要的产物。
那里的草虽然长不高,
却极富营养。
空气干燥,
雨露稀少,
使草的茎部得到自然的养护,这
就有可能使马牛羊不仅在夏季而且在冬季都可得到赖以为生
的饲料。这种情况一经发现,
所谓“美洲大沙漠”便不复存在了。应运而生的是所谓的“牧
场业”。从墨西哥湾到加拿
大,从堪萨斯州和内布拉斯加州到内华达山脉,随着印第安人和
北美野牛的一去不返,养
牛场和食品车接踵而来,遍布各地。
这段文字分为两个语段:
句(
1
)至句(
2
)为第一语段,说明美国西部牧草之丰美;句
(
3
)至句(
4
)为第二语段,说明美国西部畜牧业
之兴起。前者为因,后者为果。因此,这
两个语段之间是一种因果关系。
语段的章法作用
p>
当语段进入语篇时,不仅语段和语段之间结成一定的语义关系,而且不同的语段在语篇
中往往起着不同的章法作用。我们知道,一个较长的语篇通常都有开头和结尾,在行文中还
p>
要用一些过渡词语起承上启下的作用。这在单语段的语篇中一般是由句子来表示的,而在多<
/p>
语段的语篇中则由语段来表示。当然,这种表示“起承转合”的语段有时也可采取单句的形
式。下面,我们列举一些话语片断,并从中观察语段的章法作用:
Californians and New Englanders are
both American
.
They speak the
same language
and abide by the same
federal laws
.
But they are
very different in their ways of life
.
p>
Mobility
—
both
physical and
psychological
—
has made a
great impression on the culture of
Californians
;
lack
of mobility is the mark of the customs and
morality of New Englanders
?
加利福尼亚人和新英格兰人都是美国人。他们说相同的语言,遵守相同的联邦法律。然<
/p>
而他们在生活方式上很不相同。流动性(形体上的和心理上的)在加州人的文化上打下深刻
的烙印;而缺少流动性则标志着新英格兰人的风俗习惯和精神素质。
上面选段的斜体部分是一个引进话题的语段,该语段由三个句子组成,它的意义重
心在
第三句,引出美国加州人和新英格兰人生活方式的差异。又例如下面一段关于美国人
和日本
人互致问候的方式不同的文字:
?
Americans might be
embarrassed because their Japanese friends are so
formal with
them
.
Japanese
might feel insulted be-cause American
acquaintances greet them
casually
.
Still
,
the
forms of greeting in both countries only show
respect for others
.
It just
hap-pens that Americans and Japanese
have a different way of looking at human
relationships and thus have a different
way of showing respect
.
美国人可能因为日本朋友对他们过于拘礼而感到局促。日本人可能由于美国朋友对他们
打招呼过于随便而感觉受到凌辱。在日本和美国,打招呼的方式虽然不同,却都是对别人表
示敬意。只是美国人和日本人看待人际关系的方式不同,从而对人表示敬意的方式也不同。
- 10 -
英语篇章结构
第
- 10 -
页
(共
32
页)
在以上选段中,斜体部分是一个用作“结束语”的语段,由两个句子组成,它是对上文<
/p>
思想内容的总结和概括。又例如:
Professor
Throgmorton
,
of London
University
,
was giving his
usual weekly lecture on
English history
when he noticed that someone at the back of the
room was fiddling with
something in his
hands
.
“
You at the
back
!
”
he
shouted
.
“
What was
the date of the signing of the Magna
Carta
?
Everyone
in the room looked round in
surprise
.
There was a long
silence followed by a low
voice saying<
/p>
,“
Me
,
si
r
?”
“
Y
es
,
you
,
sir
.”
“
I don't know
,
sir
.”
“
p>
Well
,
you ought to
know
.
We did it last
week
.
You should have made
notes
.
All
right
.
Here's a
question you ought to be able to
answer
:
Who was Oliver
Cromwell and what
did he
do
?”
“
I'm afraid I don't
know
,
sir
.”
“
You don't
know
!
You don't
know
!
Apparently you don't
know anything you ought to
know
.
What were
you doing last week when we did all
this
?”
“
I was out drinking with
friends
?”
“
I don't know how you dare
tell me such a thing
.
You
should have made notes
.
How
can
you dare to hope you'll pass the
exam at the end of the
course
?
Tell me
that
?”
“
Well
,
sir
,
I don't know about any
exam
.
I only came in to mend
the radiator
.”
伦敦
大学的萨勒摩尔顿教授正在作每周一次的英国史讲座,忽然看见教室后面有人两手
不停地
拨弄着什么。教授厉声道:“你,后面的!大宪章是哪年签订的?”
< br>教室里所有的人都惊奇地回头望去。半晌鸦雀无声,过一会有人低声问道:“先生,你
说我吗?”
“不错,说的就是你,先生。”
“我不知道呀,先生。”
“咳,你应
该知道呀。我上星期才讲的。你本该记笔记呀!好啊。有个问题,你应该能够
回答:奥利
弗·克伦威尔是何许人?他做过什么事?”
英语篇章结构
第
- 11 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 11 -
“我恐怕不知道吧,先生。”
“你不
知道,你不知道,该知道的显然你都不知道。上周我讲课时,你在干什么?”
“我跟朋友们到外面喝酒去了??”
“我真不懂你竟敢对我讲这种事。你本该记笔记呀!你怎敢指望本课程结束时能够考试及
格?告诉我??”
“唉,先生,我不知道什么考试不考试。我
来这儿是修暖气的。”
这个语篇基本上是对话体,从而不分段
落。这篇文字的斜体部分是一个承上启下的语段。
由它引出下面一系列对话。语段在语篇
中所起的这种“起承转合”作用就像单句在较短的语
篇中以及段落在较长的语篇中所起的
章法作用是一样的。
线性结构和层次结构
从上述诸例可以看出,
现代英语的篇
章结构大体可分为两类:
一类是
“线性结构”
< br>(
Linear
Structure
< br>),另一类是“层次结构”(
Hierarchical Structure<
/p>
)。所谓线性结构就是句与句之
间或者语段与语段之间在逻辑意义
上不存在主从关系或层次问题,即话语进程基本上是直线
发展的。对话体多半属于线性结
构。现在我们来看一看对话的组织结构特征。
对话是言语交谈
的变换体系,
这种体系的重要特征之一是在对话时必须遵循
“轮
流规则”
。
这就是说,对话总是在甲乙双方之间进行,甲问乙答
,乙问甲答;一方在发言,另一方便停
止发言;彼此轮流讲话,便在甲乙两方之间建立起
传递信息的渠道。当然,在言语交谈中,
还可能有两个以上的人参加对话。但是,不管有
多少人参加,在进行交谈的时候,总是轮流
讲话,轮流发言,而不可能许多人同时讲话,
否则,传递信息的渠道就会发生障碍。由于对
话是一种轮流的言语活动,所以,对话开始
时引进话题,中途改变话题或者打断对方发言等
等总都是由交谈的一方来进行。这样,对
话便形成一个回合接着一个回合,一个话题接着一
英语篇章结构
第
- 12 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 12 -
个话题,一个语段接
着一个语段,从而形成线性的发展过程。下面让我们分析一段对话:
英语篇章结构
第
- 13 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 13 -
英语篇章结构
第
- 14 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 14 -
由上述对话分析可以看出,这段对话是由八个话题,也就是八
个语段组成:
[A]
→
[B]
→
[C]
→
[D]
p>
→
[E]
→
[F]
→
[G]
→
[
H]
形成一种语段的链条,所以叫做“线性结构”。
与线性结构相对应的是“层次结构”。所谓层次结构指构成语篇的句子或者语段相互之
间在逻辑意义上存在着一种主从关系,它们或者是解释关系,或者是因果关系,或者是总分
关系。总之,这些句子或语段不在同一平面上,而是在不同的层次上。书卷体通常属于这类
结构,即一个语篇往往由不同层次的语段构成。下面,我们分析一篇短文,内容是略谈英国
p>
英语和美国英语在词汇、拼法和发音三方面的某些不同点:
[A]
(
1
)
British English and American English are
almost exactly the same
.
(
2
)
But there
are minor differences between British
English and American English in vocabulary
< br>.
||
(
3
)
Almost all the words used in British
English and American English are exactly the same<
/p>
.
(
4
)
Only a very small number of words are used
differently
.
(
5
)
For
example
,
Americans would
say
“
an
apartment
”,
but Britishers
would say
“
a
flat
”
to talk about the place
they live
.
||
(
6
)
To talk about the
back compartment of a car
,
a
Britisher would say
“
boot
,
but an
American would say
“
trunk
”
.
(
7
)
These are examples of
common words that are different
in
British and American English
.(
8
)
In addition to some
common words
,
many idiomatic
英语篇章结构
第
- 15 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 15 -
expressions are different
.(<
/p>
9
)
An example of
idiomatic expression is the expression for
telephoning someone
.
< br>(
10
)
In England
people might
say
,
“
I'll ring
you up tonight
,
but in
the U
.
S
.,
people might
say
,
“
I'll call
you up tonight
.”
(
11
)
So we might
say
,
the first
difference between British English and
American English is
vocabulary
,
especially
idioms
.
||[B]
(
12
)
The second
difference between British and American English is
pronunciation
.
(
p>
13
)
The main
difference in pronunciation concerns the
vowels
,
especially
and O
.
(
14
)
Some American dialects
and some British dialects use these vowels in
different
ways
.
(<
/p>
15
)
For
example
,
an American would
say
,
“
I
can't/knt/call you
”,
but a
Britisher
would
say
,“
I can't/knt/call you
”.(
16
)
Ame
ricans and British-ers don't understand each
other's pronunciation
.(
17
)
But most of the
time Britishers and Americans do understand
each other's pro-
nunciation
,
because most of
the sounds of the two dialects are the
same
.
||[C]
(
18
)
The third difference
is very small
.
This is the
difference in spelling
.
(
19
)
A few kinds of
words are spelled differently in British and
American English
.
(
20
)
The most
common ex-ample is a word like center
p>
.(
21
)
In
British English this word would be spelled
C
-
E
-
N
-
T
-
R
-
E
,
wh
ile in American English the same word would be
spelled C
-
E
-
N
-
T
-
E
-
R
.(
< br>22
)
Another example is the
ending
“-
or
”
or
“-
our
”.(
23
)
The
word
colour is spelled C
-
O
-
L
-
O
-
U
-
R in Britain
,
but C
-
O
-
L
< br>-
O
-
R in the
U
.
S
.
<
/p>
||[D]
(
24
)
Generally
then
,
we can say that three
small areas of difference between British
English and American English are found
in the areas of
vocabulary
,
spelling and
pronunciation
.
p>
英国英语和美国英语几乎是完全相同的。两者在词汇方面有着一些微小的差异。在英国英语<
/p>
和美国英语中,几乎所有的词都是相同的,只有很少几个词用法不同,比如讲到人们的居室
美国人称之为
apartment
,<
/p>
而英国人则称之为
flat
。
讲到汽车后部的行李箱,
英国人称之为
boot<
/p>
,
而美国人则称之为
trunk
。这些例子是在常用词方面英国英语和美国英语的不同之处。除了常
用词
,还有许多惯用法的区别,比如要表达“今晚我要给你打电话”,在英国,人们会说,
I
'll
ring you up
tonight
,而在美国则说
I'll call you
up tonight
。因此我们可以说,英国英语和美国
英语
的区别首先是在词汇方面,特别是在惯用法方面。英国英语和美国英语第二方面的区别
在
于发音,主要是和
O
等几个元音的发音。这几个元音在某些美国
方言和英国方言中发音是
不同的,例如美国人说
I
can't/knt/call you
,而英国人则说
I can't/knt/call you
。有时,美国人<
/p>
和英国人不理解彼此的语音,然而在大多数情况下,两者对于彼此的语音是理解的,因为两
种方言的大多数音值是相同的。两种方言第三方面的区别是很小的,这是在拼写方面。有
少
数几个词在英国英语和美国英语中拼写不同:最普通的例子如
center
一词在英国英语中拼作
centre
,而相同的词在美国英语中拼作
center
。又例
如词尾
-or
或
-our
:
colour
一词在英国拼
作
c-o-l-o-
u-r
,而在美国却拼作
c-o-l-o-r
< br>。总之,我们可以说,英国英语和美国英语只在词汇、
拼写、发音三个方面略微有
些区别。
这是一个多层次的语篇结构。
全篇共有
24
句,
分为四个语段:<
/p>
A
段包括句
(
1
)
至句
(
1
1
)
,
这个语段从词汇和习惯用语方面
说明英国英语和美国英语是大同小异的。
B
段包括句(
12
)
至句(
17
p>
),这个语段是从语音方面说明英国英语和美国英语的某些差异。
C
段包括句(
18
)
至句(
23
),从单词拼写方面说明英国英语和美国英语的
某些微小差异。
D
段是个单句语段,
总
括全文。
A
段本身又可分为若干较小的语段:句(
1
)和句(
2
)形成第一小
段
[A1]
,这是
A
< br>段的主题句;句(
3
)至句(
7
)为第二小段
[A2]
,从单词方面发
挥
A
段的主题思想;句(
8
)
至句(
10
)为第三小
段
[A3]
,从成语方面发挥
A
p>
段的主题思想;二、三两个小语段由句(
8
)
英语篇章结构
第
- 16 -
页
(共
32
页)
- 16 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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